Soil amendment with activated charcoal can reduce dieldrin uptake by cucumbers

Organochlorine pesticides (OCP) were once applied world wide but have been banned meanwhile in most countries because of their ecotoxicity, bioaccumulation and persistence. However, residues can still be present in soils even many years after applications have been stopped and taken up by crop plants. OCP accumulation from bound residues was found to be a particular problem in Cucurbitaceae plants. Two soil surveys performed in 2002 and 2005 in Switzerland revealed that OCP residues were taken up by cucumbers grown in soils that have been converted to organic production in the meantime. Even if legal tolerance values are not exceeded, this is a serious economic problem for the farmers affected by contaminated crops, because consumers of organically grown crops are only willing to pay the higher prices for these than for conventional products because they are particularly concerned about health and environmental quality and therefore expect pristine food. One approach to address the problem would be to increase the capacity of affected soils to bind OCP residues in order to prevent their uptake by the crops. In this study, we wanted to test the potential use of activated charcoal (AC) for this purpose. In addition, we wanted to assess the possibility of using OCP sorption in soil by Tenax® beads as a predictor for the phytoavailability of these compounds to cucumbers. We performed two pot experiments in which the cash crop cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) was grown in soil with bound residues of dieldrin (70 µg/kg), pentachloroaniline (<0.01 µg/kg) and p,p-DDE. The soil was taken from a field under organic farming in which these residues were found in the 2005 survey. In the first experiment, cucumbers were grown for 12 to 13 weeks (until fruits were ripe) in soil into which AC had been mixed at concentrations of 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg and in untreated controls. In the second experiment, Tenax® beads were added to the soil and cucumbers, grown with and without AC amendment (800 mg/kg soil), were harvested after 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 weeks. Dieldrin was the only pesticide detected in the sampled cucumbers and extracted from soil by the Tenax beads. Dieldrin concentrations in the cucumbers were significantly reduced in the treatments with 400 and 800 mg/kg AC. Also significantly less dieldrin was sorbed by Tenax from the soil amended with 800 mg/kg AC than from the untreated control soil. More dieldrin was found to be sorbed by Tenax in the last 3-4 weeks of the experiment, particularly in the control soil, but this trend was not significant. The correlation between the amounts of Tenax-sorbed dieldrin and dieldrin accumulation in the cucumber fruits was significant in control soil and 800 mg/kg AC soil. Hence, Tenax appeared to be suited for the assessment of dieldrin solubility in soil and of phytoavailability to cucumbers

The Flow: Educate. Empower. Change

Menstruation is often misrepresented, stigmatized, and ignored. A lack of education and distorted view of periods in society greatly impacts young menstruators as they begin to have periods and can have long-term negative effects on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. In order to design a project that effectively addressed this global problem, we used the Human Centered Design approach. This process has three steps: Inspiration, Ideation, and Implementation. During the Inspiration phase, we conducted expert interviews with professionals in the field of menstrual health and completed a literature review to further our understanding of the issues facing menstruators. After completing the stage of Inspiration, we decided to develop strategies to educate, empower, and change attitudes towards menstruation. During the Ideation stage, we worked with consultants to develop a website and social media campaign that allowed us to reach our target audience efficiently and effectively. During our Implementation phase, we completed our website and obtained feedback from our partner organizations, experts, and a sample of our target audience, and used this information to improve our website. Next, we published our website and began the social media campaign. After this, we used questionnaires to gather feedback from our target audience as a way to evaluate our progress. We assessed our outcomes by looking at the quantitative indicative from our social media followings and website interactions. We assessed our impact by conducting a content analysis of shared stories and discussions through brand based hashtags and social media posts. Our goal is to empower menstruators, and through them everyone, to take control of their bodies and break the cycle of silence through increasing and normalizing conversation surrounding menstruation

The potential of coffee stems gasification to provide bioenergy for coffee farms:a case study in the Colombian coffee sector

The coffee industry constitutes an important part of the global economy. Developing countries produce over 90% of world coffee production, generating incomes for around 25 million smallholder farmers. The scale of this industry poses a challenge with the generation of residues along with the coffee cultivation and processing chain. Coffee stems, obtained after pruning of coffee trees, are one of those abundant and untapped resources in the coffee supply chain. Their high lignocellulosic content, the low calorific value ranging between 17.5 and 18 MJ kg−1 and the low ash content make them a suitable solid fuel for thermochemical conversion, such as gasification. This research evaluates the feasibility of using these residues in small-scale downdraft gasifiers coupled to internal combustion engines for power and low-grade heat generation, using process modelling and the Colombian coffee sector as a case study. The producer gas properties (5.6 MJ Nm−3) and the gasifier’s performance characteristics suggest that this gas could be utilized for power generation. A cogeneration system efficiency of 45.6% could be attainable when the system’s low-grade heat is recovered for external applications, like in the coffee drying stage. An analysis of the energy demand and coffee stems availability within the Colombian coffee sector shows that the biomass production level in medium- to large-scale coffee farms is well matched to their energy demands, offering particularly attractive opportunities to deploy this bioenergy system. This work assesses the feasibility of providing coffee stem–sourced low-carbon energy for global coffee production at relevant operating scales in rural areas

Maximizing ecological and evolutionary insight in bisulfite sequencing data sets

Genome-scale bisulfite sequencing approaches have opened the door to ecological and evolutionary studies of DNA methylation in many organisms. These approaches can be powerful. However, they introduce new methodological and statistical considerations, some of which are particularly relevant to non-model systems. Here, we highlight how these considerations influence a study’s power to link methylation variation with a predictor variable of interest. Relative to current practice, we argue that sample sizes will need to increase to provide robust insights. We also provide recommendations for overcoming common challenges and an R Shiny app to aid in study design

Prevalence and molecular characterization of C. pecorum detected in Swiss fattening pigs

Chlamydia (C.) pecorum, an obligate intracellular bacterial species commonly found in ruminants, can also occur in pigs. However, its significance as a potential porcine pathogen, or commensal, is still unclear. In a previous study (Hoffmann et al. 2015), mixed infections of C. suis and C. pecorum were detected in 14 Swiss fattening pig farms. Using these samples, we aimed to investigate the infection dynamics of C. suis and C. pecorum mixed infections in these farms. In addition, we analyzed the genetic diversity of Swiss porcine C. pecorum strains in relation to globally circulating strains. In total, 1284 conjunctival and rectal swabs from 391 pigs, collected at the beginning and end of the fattening period, were tested during the course of this study. We determined the bacterial loads of C. suis and C. pecorum using species-specific real-time PCR (qPCR) and compared these results to already existing DNA-microarray and Chlamydiaceae qPCR data. Overall, C. suis and Chlamydiaceae copy numbers decreased in the course of the fattening period, whereas C. pecorum copy numbers increased. No association was found between clinical signs (conjunctivitis, lameness and diarrhea) and the bacterial loads. Preventive antibiotic treatment at the beginning of the fattening period significantly lowered the chlamydial load and outdoor access was associated with higher loads. Proximity to the nearest ruminants correlated with increased C. pecorum loads, indicating that C. pecorum could be transmitted from ruminants to pigs. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and major outer membrane protein (ompA) genotyping revealed two novel sequence types (STs) (301, 302) and seven unique ompA genotypes (1-7) that appear to form a specific clade separate from other European C. pecorum strain

Multistimuli‐Responsive [3]Dioxaphosphaferrocenophanes with Orthogonal Switches

Novel multistimuli-responsive phosphine ligands comprising a redox-active [3]dioxaphosphaferrocenophane backbone and a P-bound imidazolin-2-ylidenamino entity that allows switching by protonation are reported. Investigation of the corresponding metal complexes and their redox behaviour are reported and show the sensitivity of the system towards protonation and metal coordination. The experimental findings are supported by DFT calculations. Protonation and oxidation events are applied in Rh-catalysed hydrosilylations and demonstrate a remarkable influence on reactivity and/or selectivity